Now they know why Mike Kohli Davis read newspapers all day

The house Kohli, who was social worker Mike Davis in Kalimpong, rented after his marriage to Bharati Dass was near the town bus stand, almost in the heart of the town. Every morning, he used to be seen walking up to Himalayan stores, a newspaper shop, and read as many papers as possible, said Anil Sarkhi, a resident of Murgihatta where Kohli stayed.

The family of Bharati Dass was in absolute shock. 8216;8216;When he first came to our house he was such a cool, confident person,8217;8217; said Arati Dass, mother of Bharati sitting in her home in the Hilltop area. The house is small but beautifully maintained with pictures of Bharati adoring the front room. The picture of Kohli was not there or might have been removed. 8216;8216;Bharati has broken down completely and is not in a state to speak to anyone,8217;8217; the mother said.

The two had eloped about a month ago after a brief love affair and the wedding was solemnised soon. A wedding party was thrown on June 23 by the two in which a lot of local residents were invited.

8216;8216;Kohli has not only killed a teenaged girl but has ruined the life of my sister,8217;8217; cried Mamata, Bharati8217;s elder sister. 8216;8216;Maybe one day Bharati would have been killed. God has been gracious to at least keep my sister alive,8217;8217; she added.

With Kohli in custody, the scene is now hotting up for the reward money that was announced by the British police. Anthony Pradhan, a neighbour of Bharati Dass8217;s family, is the one who identified Kohli when the Kalimpong police called him to show a newspaper and ask if he could identify the man. 8216;8216;I hadn8217;t seen the paper, but as soon as I saw it, I knew that it was the same man I met frequently and knew pretty well,8217;8217; he said.

Talking to The Indian Express, Anthony said: 8216;8216;I don8217;t hanker for any reward money but at lest the credit for this great breakthrough should also come to me.8217;8217; Anthony was one of the invitees at the marriage ceremony of Kohli and Bharati.

And today he was moving with a bunch of photographs that featured Bharati, Kohli and others in the gathering. Those were hot pickings for the Press. The supply from Athony was unending. His only hope8212;his contribution to this great breakthrough is acknowledged by the right people.

The Kalimpong police, however, maintained that it was purely a 8216;8216;police initiative8217;8217; to track down Kohli after his pictures were flashed in the papers. Inspector Pradhan of Kalimpong police station, when asked about the reward money, also sounded philosophical: 8216;8216;We have done our bit for a humanitarian cause. We haven8217;t done it for money.8217;8217;

Meanwhile, uncertainty loomed over the custody rights of Kohli. He was produced before the sub-divisional judicial magistrate here this afternoon and remanded to judicial custody till July 29. Significantly, the West Bengal police did not want police custody for Kohli which, official circles say, was to make things easier for the Punjab police team to take him there.

A Punjab police team reached Kalimpong at about 4 p.m. after having landed at Bagdogra airport this afternoon. The team, including Alen Betts of the British police, drove at break-neck speed to cover the 80-km hilly track and reach the court of the sub-divisional judicial magistrate in time. But by the time they made it, it was all over for the day.

Yet, the team made a submission before the SDJM, Har Govind Singh, who said that he could hear the Punjab police appeal only tomorrow morning. P.S. Virk, superintendent of police Patiala, regretted that they could not get custody of Maninderpal Singh Kohli, who was wanted, apart form the murder investigation, for a passport forgery case. Betts, the British police officer said: 8216;8216;We have waited 15 months to get Kohli. We don8217;t mind waiting some more time to have his custody.8217;8217;

Sources said that the Kalimpong police was forwarded an advisory from the Interpol that the alleged killer should be handed over to the CBI. It is therefore clear that unless clear instructions come from the top most officials of the government in Delhi, the Punjab police bid to have Kohli8217;s custody may not be a smooth affair.

Sources also said that for safety reasons, Kohli was put up at the juvenile correctional home under the jail department instead of being lodged in the cell.